Okay, before you respond, I'd like you to read my whole post, since I'm going to ask a different question than you might think.

I know most of us here played during the days of Base Set (1999) and even stretching beyond that a few years into Neo and maybe even the EX block. But the TCG has progressed a long way since then - it's now mid-2012, and with the World Championships going on this weekend, what happens there will cause a paradigm shift for people who are still playing.

Yeah, how many of you out there actually still play the Pokemon TCG? By that, I mean things like keeping up with current events, going to leagues or hanging out with practice partners, and also going to tournaments now and again?I assume that a lot of you played at one point but aren't playing right now for whatever reason - either dissatisfaction with the cards or favorites not being printed or whatever.

I just feel alone here when it comes to TCG; I still play in tournaments now and again and get by in the TCG by even judging tournaments. So what I'd like to know is do any of you still go to tournaments and/or regularly play TCG with current-format cards, or have done so sometime within the past year?

I totally would if the nearest league weren't 40 miles away; despite being mostly a collector I do try to keep up on what's good in the current-day metagame and I'm definitely not one of those people who played for like two months in 1999 and thinks that everything that came after Wizards of the Coast's run sucks, and/or the game is too different and/or has too much power creep compared to back then. I hope that Pokebeach's new replacement simulator for Redshark coming in the fall has an awesome user interface so that maybe I can play on there.

I'm kinda looking forward to that new simulator too - if it's even going to be released, curse that PlayTCG - since Redshark is behind on its updates (or maybe even abandoned).

I actually knew you kept abreast of current events and would play if you could but you can't, so I wasn't too worried about your stance on everything, Frost. I'm just wondering if there's anyone else out there who knows enough about TCG here.

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I'm definitely not one of those people who played for like two months in 1999 and thinks that everything that came after Wizards of the Coast's run sucks, and/or the game is too different and/or has too much power creep compared to back then.

DP is my favorite set block. For me personally, it just has so much going for it - the return of flavor text, all kinds of different art styles, cards that look a lot more vibrant and alive...and I'm a sucker for LV.X. But the DP formats were so full of life too, so that's another bit to it.

I'm still learning how to play, and taking awhile because I need a job in order to get into it. I get out my cards every once in a while to do w/e- look at them, count them, make sure they're in good shape.

_________________"As I look up from the groundI see darkness all aroundAnd I'm lost but can be found up in the skyGoodbye"

I still play against my sister since I don't know anyone else who plays. I haven't bought cards in years but I really want the new Ho-Oh EX card to go with the older Ho-Oh cards I have in my deck already. Seriously, it's, what, the third Ho-Oh card to have an attack based on how many different energy cards you have attached to it? My deck is already based around that, I just need the stronger Ho-Oh EX.So, I still play, but I never played in tournaments. I've played other card games against tournament players, and I played my deck against my sister who has a bunch of Reshiram cards from a copy of a winning deck, and I lose against the really good cards every time. >.< Even though I think of myself as good.

I played during the DPP editions. I stopped before the release of HGSS cards. In Greece, there are very few events, so I never had the chance to play competitively. But I always kept up with the metagame and I considered myself a good amateur. Now, with the new dragons I intend to restart. Can someone give me some advice on the new metagame and some ideas for Garchomp decks?

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The chill of death, the heart of a metalhead. A lonerebel.I'm a competitive battler, ask me if you have any questions on competitive battling or want advice on Ubers teambuilding.Credit to DragoBoy for the banner!The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!

I now can play casually with my boyfriend, which is nice, but the cost of making a competitive deck and the fact that the nearest league is still 40 miles away is pretty unfortunate.

Also playing a game in real-life for the first time in over a decade yesterday reminded me of just how spoiled I am for playing TCG GB for years and years and years. Sometimes I would forget to draw a card at the beginning of my turn because things like that are done for you, and actually having to flip a coin yourself when you suck at flipping coins in a nice fashion is a PAIN. We ended up using a four-sided die because we kept dropping the coin and stuff. Also having to shuffle your deck when you're OCD about maintaining the condition of your cards (even when they're just duplicates) is frustrating. >_<

ChillBill, since there are only two Garchomp right now and this format is not particularly Stage 2-friendly, it's probably best to try Gabite 89, Garchomp 90 and Altaria. They were part of an overhyped combo that ultimately wasn't as powerful as people believed. The problem is that a common combo right now is Rayquaza and Eelektrik, which can easily kill your Gible before they can evolve. However the Garchomp/Altaria combo is still likely the best option if you want to build a deck around Garchomp in a format dominated by big basics like Mewtwo-EX, Darkrai-EX, Landorus-EX and now Blastoise and Keldeo-EX. This is because the other Garchomp card is pretty lacking.

The most essential Trainer card in today's metagame is Pokemon Catcher. For a more specific selection of TSS to use in a Garchomp deck, DNA would probably be more knowledgeable than me.

Yeah, I PMed DNA. He was really helpful.And I chose to play with this deck because I like Garchomp (which I know you hate:D) and I always preffered evolution decks rather than basics, especially if those evos had cheap-to-use moves (ever since Gliscor Lv.X in Legends Awakened). Also, although I like the new EX Pokemon, which are undoubtedly very powerful and well-designed, I kinda feel like they are too much. Sure, they can be countered and they give 2 prizes, but still they are basics with the HP and moves of a Lv.X or even more. No comparison to old Pokemon-Ex. So a good old Stage 2 evo appeals to me much more than an extreme basic.

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The chill of death, the heart of a metalhead. A lonerebel.I'm a competitive battler, ask me if you have any questions on competitive battling or want advice on Ubers teambuilding.Credit to DragoBoy for the banner!The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!

You forgot a fleeting mention of Blastoise being present thanks to his Pokemon Power/Ability!

And also Computer Search, Item Finder (next year at least) and Rare Candy, even though all of those cards are nerfed compared to back then, lawl.

All we need now is for LASS to make her glorious return to traumatize small children forever by taking up the rare spot in their booster packs. <3 <3 <3 And maybe Jungle Mr. Mime to troll and horrify everyone for two seconds until they remember Garbodor, Latias-EX and any number of Pokemon with the attack Shred exist.

Oh, well, that's just how things go, you know? If new wasn't bad, we wouldn't have good old days to look back.Ah, Lass... How wonderful you were...

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The chill of death, the heart of a metalhead. A lonerebel.I'm a competitive battler, ask me if you have any questions on competitive battling or want advice on Ubers teambuilding.Credit to DragoBoy for the banner!The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!

And nowadays, attacks that do less than 30 damage are extremely uncommon. You would have to use weak Pokemon on purpose just to stop it. However, Shred, Swift, and the like exist and are much more prevalent now (they weren't prevalent at all back then), but even so it requires decks to run something like that just in case. Or just slap a Special Condition on it, if you can.

So if that card came back, it would be pretty powerful. But Garbodor would still lol at it, since the Pokemon Power would become an Ability. But that becomes great for people who play in Unlimited!

I play every now and then against my little brothers. I have two decks: one is the Chaos Control starter deck from the hsUnleashed expansion, with cards swapped; the other is Stormshaper from the Arceus expansion, which has undergone heavy changes.Unfortunately there are no competitions here, and Pokémon TCG never caught on like yugioh did, so there's no one other than my brothers to play against (the only people I know who have any Pokémon cards only have the really old cards from when we were 5, and little or no energy cards)

At first i used to collect them to show then i got the Pokemon TCG for Gameboy and that started my interest in it but not having no one else interested made me get out of it again.

It's only now i've recently started getting into it again mainly thanks to the youtube user TheJWittz. Even though no one i know still doesn't have interest in it and they more than likely think its childish, being older now i don't care as much what they think

Although i have no idea how to build a good deck yet.

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I don't use "uber" Pokemon, I don't calculate stat values, I don't use cheating devices, I don't breed my way to perfection, and I don't care about natures.I catch my Pokemon the way they are, and treat them like individuals instead of brainless drones.If you use this philosophy, copy & paste this into your signature.

I still play the TCG.I've entered official Pokémon TCG tournaments(and didn't do very well).I also play against my brothers and sisters.I get a lot of practice battling them considering there's five of them(2 brothers and 3 sisters, all of them love Pokémon).

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thanks to Eeveelution-Master for making my trainer card and awesome avatar

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